High Hopes for a New Committee at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen

Posted on by David Stokes

On Wednesday, October 9, a new committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is holding its first hearing. The Special Committee on Special Taxing Districts was formed to look into how the city can provide better oversight of the many community improvement districts (CIDs), transportation development districts (TDDs), and other such entities in the city.

CIDs, TDDs, and other districts undoubtedly need better public oversight. There also needs to simply be fewer of them, oversight or not. Hopefully the second part will be as important as the first part for the committee. An audit of CIDs by the Kansas City auditor in 2021 detailed the many issues with them in Kansas City, and a similar report from this committee would be beneficial.

I will be at this first committee meeting to enter into the record the  2019 report on special taxing districts published by the Show-Me Institute. It is great that the city has formed this committee, and hopefully both better oversight and reduced usage of special taxing districts will be the result.

(As a child of the 80’s, the hardest part of writing this blog post about a special committee studying special taxing districts was avoiding making a bunch of church lady references.)

Should Missouri Consider a 3rd-Grade Retention Policy?

Posted on by Avery Frank

Do you think students should get promoted to the next grade if they do not understand grade-level material?

There are two key factors to consider when answering this question: academic promotion and social promotion.

  • Academic promotion is straightforward—as students gain an understanding of the material, they advance to the next level and build on what they learned in the grade before.
  • Social promotion is based on age and allows students to stay with their friends and peers throughout their school experience.

Social promotion largely wins the day in schools. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 40 percent of Missouri 4th graders scored below basic on the 4th-grade reading assessment in 2022. Additionally, 15.1 percent of the same 4th graders scored below basic on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP).

However, recently, some states have put more emphasis on academic promotion.

Some States Are Focusing More on Academic Promotion

In states such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida, 3rd grade students can be prevented from advancing to 4th grade if they do not meet reading requirements. This is typically referred to as a “third-grade retention policy.”

All three states have seen significant gains in reading achievement. Mississippi’s commitment to mandatory phonics instruction and 3rd-grade retention has contributed to such a large boost in reading scores, it has been referred by many as the “Mississippi Miracle.”

On the NAEP, Mississippi’s scores increased by almost 10 percentage points between 2013 and 2022. Missouri’s decreased by 6 percentage points over that time period.

Mississippi also implemented targeted reading instruction based on evidence-based reading. It is hard to disconnect 3rd-grade retention from intentional instruction.

Considerations for Weighing a 3rd-Grade Retention Policy

After the pandemic, reading scores in Missouri not only initially nosedived, but they sadly continued to decrease and remained low. Missouri may need to consider new strategies to help our students in need.

However, social promotion is not unimportant. For students who are trying hard and get left behind, this can be a very tough social situation. Having friends go on to the next grade means the student left behind has less interaction with friends—different classes, different sports teams, different lunch schedules, and more.

Additionally, kids being older than their peers can create awkward social situations and increase bullying.

Mississippi’s policy attempts to balance different priorities when considering retention. It has the :

  • Limited English proficient students who had less than 2 years of instruction in an English Language Learner program.
  • Students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) indicates that participation in statewide assessment programs is not appropriate.
  • Students with disabilities who demonstrate a reading deficiency but whose IEP has provided them with intensive reading remediation for more than two years.
  • Students with disabilities who demonstrate a reading deficiency but were previously retained in a K-3 grade.
  • Students who meet an acceptable level of reading proficiency on an alternative standardized assessment approved by the Mississippi State Board of Education.
  • Students who demonstrate a reading deficiency despite having received two or more years of intensive reading intervention and have been retained in a K-3 grade for two years without meeting exceptional education criteria.

Third-grade retention has a demonstrated track record of success in other states, and it should be given consideration as Missouri students continue to struggle in reading.

 

 

POSTPONED: Charles C. W. Cooke on October 9

Posted on by Show-Me Institute Staff

The event featuring Charles C. W. Cooke, scheduled for Wednesday, October 9, has been postponed. Due to travel complications related to Hurricane Milton, we are unable to proceed with the event as planned.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are working on scheduling a new date for the event and updates will be posted here. Thank you for your understanding.

Missouri Shows that More Government Doesn’t Equal More Housing

Posted on by Patrick Tuohey

Housing is an important issue. Many people, myself included, believe it is a cornerstone issue for so much of what ails America. If we can solve housing, many other solutions would be within our grasp. Yet so many policy proposals seek only to address the secondary effects of housing rather than the core problem itself.

The fundamental issue here is supply and demand. There is a tight housing market in many places in the country where supply is already constrained—though that is generally not the case in Kansas City or St. Louis. Housing policies that focus on boosting demand rather than increasing supply tend to backfire. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 and the Clinton administration’s National Homeownership Strategy both drove temporary housing booms followed by market crashes. These policies didn’t solve affordability; they exacerbated it.

The same flawed logic has shaped housing markets in Kansas City and St. Louis, where misguided interventions have made housing less affordable. Kansas City’s adoption of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) stifled new home construction by inflating costs. Builders, facing steep regulatory burdens, simply stopped building. In St. Louis, a reliance on tax credits and incentives for flashy developments has left vast swaths of the city with vacant lots and dilapidated buildings. In both cities, the results are clear: policies that ignore basic market principles fail to deliver desired results.

Kansas City and St. Louis offer cautionary tales. We don’t need more interventions that drive prices higher. We need policies that foster more housing construction, deregulate land use, and let the market work. Housing affordability won’t improve with more government spending—it will improve when we stop putting obstacles in the way.

Missouri Ballot Issues and the Return of Three Mile Island

Posted on by Elias Tsapelas

David Stokes, Elias Tsapelas, and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss: Missouri’s Amendment 6, the Kirkwood sales tax vote, the state’s minimum wage proposition, the return of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, and more.

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on SoundCloud

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Federalism and The Founders’ Vision with Charles C. W. Cooke

Posted on by Susan Pendergrass

See Charles C.W. Cooke live on October 9 in St. Charles, MO
Tickets and Details Here

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Charles C. W. Cooke, senior editor at National Review, about the growing trend of federal centralization and its threat to the U.S. federalist system.

They discuss how the founders intended for states and local communities to have control over their governance, and why the push to consolidate power in Washington undermines American principles of liberty and self-governance. Charles explains why this centralization is antithetical to the country’s founding ideals, the consequences of this shift, and why it’s essential to reverse course.

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on SoundCloud

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

It Has Been a Great Week for Economic Development Agencies in Missouri

Posted on by David Stokes

This has been a fun week for those of us who feel that economic development agencies in Missouri are the equivalent of Churchill’s famous description of Russia. Our local economic development agencies are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

North Side Grant Project Is a Disaster

The revelations about the North St. Louis Small Business & Non-Profit Grant Program being managed by the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) keep coming. The entire grant program is rife with political favoritism, but at least the places connected to politicians actually exist! It turns out some of the other recipients of the grants are not, shall we say, real entities, like this “museum” just north of the Central West End:

The museum’s website advertises a facility, historical exhibits and a passion for illustrating the history of the Mississippi River and the people who have lived on its banks. But its address leads to a brick four-family structure in a neighborhood just north of the Central West End. No one answers the door, even during advertised business hours. And the building itself is surrounded by weeds and overgrowth.

“I’ve never heard anything about that place being a museum,” said Ray Sims, a longtime neighbor of the building. “How do I get the money?”

It’s almost like word got out that the SLDC was just giving away free money and, shockingly, people started making up reasons to get free money.

Recipients of Large Tax Subsidies Under Indictment

Does the SLDC make better decisions when dealing with big-time developers instead of ordinary people? Apparently not. Last week, the heads of a major St. Louis and Kansas City development firm were indicted in St. Louis for allegedly submitting false documents regarding minority-hiring rules. While this is the first indictment of these men (everyone is, of course, innocent until proven otherwise), their questionable business practices have been well known. Yet they have consistently received massive tax subsidies for work in St. Louis and Kansas City: particularly the latter in recent years.

Five Lux Living projects in Kansas City have been approved for incentives since 2021, including a $200 million apartment/hotel at 14th and Wyandotte streets.

Is it fair of me to blame the SLDC for an act  by private citizens or companies seeking subsidies? Perhaps not, but when politicians and bureaucrats choose who gets subsidies, don’t be surprised when unpleasant actors start circling. After all, political donations and tax subsidies have a strong connection:

For instance, around the country, politicians who make these deals are more likely to receive campaign donations, and they’re more likely to be re-elected. On the flip side, companies that make political donations to relevant officials are four times more likely to enjoy subsidy deals than those that don’t, and their deals are more than 60% bigger, to boot.

Again, it’s shocking, I know . . .

Maryland Heights Uses General Taxes to Make up for Failures

It isn’t just large cities that abuse economic development policy. Suburbs do it all the time, and they don’t always do it with misplaced tax subsidies. Sometimes, cities make the mistakes all on their own.

Several years ago, Maryland Heights decided to get into the ice arena business. Not a normal ice rink for its residents, mind you; that would have been understandable. City leaders apparently wanted to act like private developers and build a massive hockey and skating complex to make money for the city. This is, usually, a big mistake for cities.

It definitely was a big mistake for Maryland Heights. The city has announced that it has again been forced to tap into general tax revenues to fund the bond payments after its predicted ice complex revenues have continued to fall short. Part of the reason revenues fell short is that both Maryland Heights and the ice complex failed to collect a sales tax for several years that was implemented to pay for the bonds. I don’t know if that is funny, sad, or both.

Cities do not have to engage in economic development schemes to succeed. Unilateral disarmament is the best option all around. Until that happens, expect stories like these to be a regular occurrence.

Real-Time Crime Data with Jeff Asher

Posted on by Susan Pendergrass

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jeff Asher, data analyst and co-founder of AH Datalytics, about the Real-Time Crime Index (RTCI).

They discuss how the RTCI provides a near real-time look at crime trends across the U.S. by sampling data from hundreds of law enforcement agencies. Jeff explains the challenges of working with incomplete and imprecise data, the methodology for standardizing crime statistics across different agencies, the importance of real-time data for informed decision-making, and more.

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on SoundCloud

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

New School Options in the Heartland: Hybrid and Micro Schools

Posted on by James V. Shuls

School-choice policies open the door for a variety of schooling options to take root.

During the COVID-19 pandemic many families formed small learning communities. These “pandemic pods,” as they were often called, caught the nation’s attention and were the subject of numerous stories in the New York Times and elsewhere. Now, though the pandemic is over, many have realized the benefits of alternative learning environments. With the expansion of school choice programs throughout the United States, new schooling options seem to be sprouting up everywhere.

Recently, I had the pleasure to attend the Heartland Hybrid and Micro Schools Summit where we heard from entrepreneurs who have started new schooling options in Kansas. It was exciting to see the possibilities that are opening as parents, educators, and entrepreneurs create unique schooling options to meet the needs of students and their communities.

Hybrid schools are schools that meet on an alternative schedule, blending school and home education. A hybrid elementary school, for example, might meet in person twice a week. The other three days, they will have intentional learning activities or experiences for students to engage in at home with their families. Some have called this hybrid-homeschooling, and it operates similarly to many of the homeschooling co-ops families have used for decades.

Micro schools are what they sound like, small schools. Often, students are taught in multi-age or mixed-grade classrooms. Some micro schools are intentionally small, with maybe 10 to 50 students enrolled. Other micro schools are startups that may grow into full-size schools at some point in the future.

Entrepreneurs are starting these schools for a variety of reasons. Some are concerned about the values taught in the local public schools, others want different teaching practices, and some find themselves as school founders almost out of necessity. In many cases, teachers themselves are the ones starting the schools.

  • Josiah Enyart taught in the Shawnee Mission School District. He disagreed with school policies related to mask mandates during the pandemic and the district’s focus on critical race theory. After more than a decade in the classroom, he left and started Freedom Learning Academy.
  • Madeline Herrera too was a veteran public school teacher. She loved leading her students through engaging, project-based learning activities. After a frustrating experience where her public school stymied her efforts with her class to engage in meaningful changes at the school, she started Limestone Community School in Lawrence, Kansas. She has made project-based learning the cornerstone of the school.
  • When the Prairie Hills School Board voted to close the district school in Wetmore, KS, population 368, Analyssa Noe and other concerned community members jumped into action. They purchased the school building and started a new school, Legacy Learning Academy.

While this type of entrepreneurial activity is somewhat new in the heartland, it has been going on for a while in places with more generous school choice policies. In 2022, I contributed to a report, Leaving the Classroom but Starting a School, published by Step Up for Students, Florida’s major school choice organization. Our report highlighted the findings of focus groups conducted with 10 former public school teachers who founded private schools. The school founders in that report sounded a lot like the school founders I met at the Heartland summit. They were passionate educators who cared deeply about kids and had a vision for how schooling could be done better.

Hybrid and micro schools embody exactly what Show-Me Institute analysts have been writing about for nearly 20 years—when you empower educators and students with educational options, you unleash the creative and entrepreneurial spirit in education.

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